What’s Next for UK Online Casinos

2020 has proved to be a strange year for everyone, including those involved with online casinos in the United Kingdom. UK online casinos, just like any other industry, have been forced to address issues they never imagined would develop but what is in store for the future?

One of the significant changes we could see over the next few years for UK online casinos involves payment methods. Credit and debit have always been the leading form of online payment and that applies to casinos.

In April 2020, the United Kingdom Gambling Commission decided to ban casinos from allowing players to deposit using credit cards. The chief executive of the UKGC said, “Research shows that 22% of online gamblers using credit cards are problem gamblers, with even more suffering some form of gambling harm.”

Using a credit card is a form of borrowing and it is understandable that the UKGC wants to see them banned from online casinos. Where one door closes, another opens and this move paves the way for PayPal, e-wallets, and cryptocurrency to take centre stage.

More players are beginning to use cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin. A switch from gamblers using credit cards and even debits cards to cryptocurrency could be one of the major changes we witness at UK online casinos.

Now more than ever before we are seeing a rise in the number of people playing online casino games using a mobile device. If you step onto any city bus, tube, or train carriage you will see many people looking at their mobile phone and playing games.

The majority of leading online casinos in the United Kingdom have a mobile application available to install on phones and tablets but those who do not will need to act quickly. Even if a mobile app is out of the question, every online casino website should, at the very least, be optimised for mobile devices.

As the technology develops it is vital the UK online casino companies keep pace and move with the times. It is no longer sufficient to simply have a desktop website, every aspect of the online casino playing experience must be available using a mobile device.

That includes playing live casino games and any online casino who does not offer a mobile friendly experience is going to be left behind.

The UK Gambling Commission are keen to make playing casino games as safe as possible online and we are sure to see additional restrictions in place in the future.

The tighter regulations will see some online casinos unable to offer their services in the United Kingdom, thus reducing the choice gamblers have when playing casino games online. However, the positive aspect of this is the availability of only the best online casinos.

There are currently hundreds of licensed online casinos in the UK and the majority of these abide by the licencing and regulations set out by the UKGC. However, there have been several companies who have decided to withdraw from the UK market as a result of the stricter regulations and this trend could continue.